This Rose has thorns
by Enternal Tweeter
Summary: You heard the story of Snow White but What stories didn't mention is that Snow had a sister, well half-sister. Neither sister knew of each others existence, that is until the queen finds out and is after them both. With the help of the dwarfs with Rosa finally take her throne? RosaXButcher
1. Orphan

Just so everyone knows i have edited all my chapters with the help of my BETA LittleLottie187, Thank you so much! oxox

Now I hope you like the story :)

Once upon a time a baby girl was born to the king and queen and as fate decided the queen dies during child birth. This baby girl was named Snow White, a spitting image of her mother. What stories do not mention is that Snow White had an older sister; her name was Iris Rose Avalendes. Her hair was the darkest shade of brown that at first glance looked black, her skin was clear and light brown, proof of her Latin heritage. Her hair was brown and slightly wavy and silky to the touch. Her eyes the most striking shade of green that shone brightly and they were the only proof that she was her father's daughter, that and the rose-like birthmark that she, Snow, and the king all shared on their left shoulder.

You see, Iris was not the biological daughter of the queen. A year before Snow was born and a few months before the king met his queen, he had a friend. She was stunning and had the biggest heart in the kingdom. She and the king were quite close and one night they showed how much they loved each other. However, the morning after the king found out that she had disappeared in the early hours of the morning. He sent search parties to look for his childhood friend but it was no use, she was gone. Once he met Snow White's mother he forgot all about Angelica Avalendes, but dear Angelica never forgot him. She had a permanent reminder of that night and she didn't regret it one bit.

Years past, the king re-married and disappeared when Snow was eight-years-old. Her step-mother was as wicked as they come; she prohibited Snow White to leave the castle and had her locked in her room for ten years. Throughout these ten years the kingdom had turned into an icy land of cold summers and death threatening winters. The people of the kingdom were all deprived and famished and the children were pleading for money so they could eat. The wicked queen would raise the tax prices just so she could afford to pay for her lavish parties. The malevolent queen was poor you see, she spent all her money and now she was stealing from others to provide her every want and impulse.

Iris's mother died when she was only nine-years-old, so Rosa had to live in an orphanage ever since. It has been ten years and the sisters still don't know that either exists. That is, until one day...

"Iris, I got you this flower," said a cute little girl while looking down and holding out a beautiful lily towards me.

"Oh my, Helena, this is beautiful. I love it," I replied as I took the flower and gave the little girl a big hug. And put the flower in a small vase on her night stand. I then turned towards Helena and said, "Now let's go down for dinner. Everyone should be sitting down by now." I held the little angel's hand as we walked downstairs and as we were about to enter the dining room a loud 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' startled both Helena and I.

Today was my 19th birthday! I completely forgot it was my birthday! It has been ten years since I have been living in this orphanage with Helena and the several other children, including my best friend Jay. Jay is five years older than I am and has been like a big brother to me ever since I have been here and he also owns the orphanage now. "Oh my gosh, you guys," I tried to say because I was on the verge of tears because no one has ever celebrated my birthday before. All the children were now sitting at the table with me at the head of it while Jay was on the other end. There were 8 children in the orphanage all together:

Katrina, 13

Brian,9

Oliver, 12

Helena, 5

Lilly-Mae, 3

Josh, 4

Plus Jay and I

All of the children considered me as their mother and Jay their father. Jay was African-American who had a lot of muscles and he was also very sporty. For some reason Jay would make exercising as a chore to do two hours of physical movement each day. The man was a health nut, but we all loved him. He taught me how to use a sword, a sling shot, and hand-to-hand combat. I preferred to wear men's clothes instead of dresses since they were easier to move in and more comfortable.

"Iris, we made you this card," Josh said in the adorable baby way most four-year-olds do.

"Aww, thank you Joshie," I said and then I gave him a kiss on his for head and read the card out loud.

**"Dear Iris, happy 19th birthday. We have a surprise for you; do you remember the stories you used to tell us about your mum and how you never met you dad, but he was a king to a faraway kingdom? Well it's those stories that got us through all the hard times; how you would describe your mother and the things she would say and do. Remember the time you told us about your dad, you said, 'my mom and I were just fine without him, I'm sure he's happy and that's all that matters. You should never wish ill of the people you don't even know or if you don't understand the situation' you are very wise and your advice has spoken to each and every one of us. You are our sister, our mother, our doctor, our teacher, you are there when we're sad and you're there to scold us if we do wrong. That is why we owe you something**."

I let a few tears run down my face before I looked into the envelope of the card.

A carriage ticket. My mouth opened wide and I looked up to see everybody smiling at me and urging me to continue to read the rest of the note.

"We wanted to thank you for everything you've done for us these past few years, here is the ticket to get a carriage ride to a castle not far from here. The kingdom is ruled by your father." Jay came over to give me a hug as well as all the children.

"We wish you happiness and the best of luck".

That night I packed my bag with all of my belongings and everything that I needed. A music box my mother gave me, a necklace that my father gave to my mother, the card the orphans gave to me and a dark red cloak. After I was done packing, I descended down the stairs when all the orphans ran up to me.

"Come back soon!" one kid shouted out.

"Don't forget us," said another kid as they attached themselves onto my legs.

"We love you," Helena said as she looked up at me with her big, round eyes.

"I will be back as soon as I can and I could never forget any of you.

I love you all so much," I said to all of them and hugged them and gave Jay a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

"If you need me send for me," Jay said as he looked me dead in the eye.

"I will," I promised him and smiled one last smile at them before I got into the elaborate carriage.

'I'm finally going to meet my father' I thought with nervousness, not knowing what was going to happen to my future.


	2. Uncle Brighton

I edited this chapter because I wasn't very happy with where it was going and i got this really great idea so I hope you like it :)

IMPORTANT!

I'm thinking about writing a fanfiction for all the dwarfs since fanfiction is lacking in many stories involving them. SO tell me what you think in a review, should I? Shouldn't I? Can't wait to read your reviews xoxox

I decided to send the carriage to the castle without me once we arrived in the woods. Apparently my uncle is the advisor of the current queen and I will be living there with him. And sadly, my father, who I have been waiting to meet my entire life, has been missing these past few years. Obviously I refused to believe it at first, but slowly on my way here I realized that I barely knew the man so why am I getting so worked up? Maybe it was because we shared blood and I have an actual blood relative, but my mind was so busy with all my thoughts going at once. With that thought in mind, I told the guard to leave me in the woods. The guard furiously shook his head and warned me about the giant bandits that stole off random people passing through the wood. I simply rolled my eyes at him because of his childish beliefs and told him that I would be fine. I hopped out of the carriage before he could say anything and ran between the snow covered trees.

My first thought of this place was that I was in a fairy tale. This place is too gorgeous! I have never seen snow to be so pure and soft. The snow barely makes a sound as I travelled along the snowy path and towards the kingdom, which was not far from the edge of the forest. All of the sudden I heard a series of grunts and frustrated yelling, so I followed the sounds which lead me to a very entertaining sight. Two men were hanging upside down from a piece of rope and they were both half-nude. They were like a couple of fish trying to escape from a net with the way that they were flapping about and trying to get free.

I stopped and stared for a couple of second, not believing what I was seeing. After a few more moments I couldn't take it anymore and collapsed on the ground. I was unable to stop my laughter and rolled around in the snow like an animal. Both of the men turned to me, well they tried anyway, and sent very heated glares my way.

"If looks could kill...," I whispered breathlessly to myself once my laughing had subsided.

"Please young maiden, set us free from these ropes" The small redheaded one asked politely. I was about to do so when the other, and admittedly more attractive, of the two spoke.

"GET US DOWN NOW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING THERE? YOU DARE LAUGH AT ME?!" the attractive and rude one yelled at me. Because of his impolite comment, I continued on my way towards the castle, not bothering to look back at either man.

"WAIT! INSOLENT WOMAN! ARE YOU DEAF? GET US DOWN!" the rude one continued to shout at me. Oh dear lord have mercy... How can he yell so loud without halting for a single breath? Did he treat women like this on a regular basis?

I spun around quickly and walked back towards them. "Only if you say please," I told them and I waited for the magic word. However, I only got a 'Get me down!' So I quickly left the two men because of their disrespect, but not before blowing them a kiss and a wave. These are the kinds of men I hate, the loud and spoilt ones.

As I continued my way to the castle, I could have sworn I saw a couple of...Dwarfs? Enter a tree? I shook my head and told myself that I must be going crazy. I blame it on my newly found uncle popping out of nowhere and entering my miserable life. Finally I'm at the edge of the forest and right in front of me is a majestic castle. The palace was gold and white with a large, frozen pond beneath it. I made my way to the entrance to find a tubby man a few inches shorter than me. Yes, I am small, so what? The pudgy man had on royal garments and his face was kind. Once I saw his relieved smile gave me a feeling I haven't felt in a long time, not even with the orphans.

"Hello Uncle Brighton, I am Iris Rose Avalendes but you can call me

Iris" I told him and then bowed formally at my uncle with a kind, yet polite smile on my face. Suddenly arms latched themselves around my waist and I looked down to see my uncle hugging me fiercely, a few tears running down his face.

"I'm sorry Iris; I denied your existence these past years because I felt my sister had betrayed me. Now I look at you and I see my strong sister. She raised you well I see," He let go and looked into my eyes and then continued to say, "You have your father's eyes too," he smiled warmly at me then wiped his tears.

"It's all right uncle, I understand how hard it must have been." I smile at him again and then he led me into the imposing castle.

I saw a couple of guards at the door and gave them a warm smile and a small wave which they return. I had to grip onto my uncle's shoulder to stop myself from falling over in shock. This place was the most stunning thing I have ever seen, and the biggest.

My uncle chuckles, "That was my reaction when I first saw the palace myself too," he then leads me towards what I presume is the kitchen. We pass a few bells for the bedrooms and then I noticed my father's was all rusty and dirty. I couldn't help but trace my fingers over the grime and smile sadly. I turned around to see where my uncle had gone off to.

"Everyone, listen up please. I want you to meet my niece, Rosa. She will be working in the kitchen from now on and I hope you treat her well," I hear my uncle announce to the kitchen staff who had paused when he entered the room.

I took a wobbly step forward; I was never good with talking to a large group of people.

"Hello everybody, I'm Iris and I hope we can all get along together," I replied and then curtsy to the staff. As I came up from curtsying, I see a woman around my uncle's age step forward.

"Niece? I wasn't aware you had one," She retorted to my uncle and then looked at me suspiciously. I unconsciously straightened up into a more aggressive stance, glaring at her.

"She's Angelique's daughter." After Uncle Brighton said that, everyone gasped and all their eyes turned to me with their mouths hanging out. My stance falters slightly as the pressure of their gazes intensifies. I gulp and take a step closer to my uncle.

"I take it you knew my mother" I asked the staff members and looked at all of them.

"She was my best friend, a stunning and kind hearted woman. Actually thinking about it, you look a lot like her except...OH GOSH," one of the kitchen ladies gasped. My eyes, the exact replica of my father's my mother once told me. They were emerald green with a bluish ring around the pupil and also some specks of gold.

"Yes, Iris is, if you pardon my saying so, the bastard child of the king," my eyes narrowed a bit as my uncle said this. He continued to talk, "But I trust you all to keep it a secret from the queen. As far as she knows, Iris is my niece who needs a job," Uncle Brighton told the staff.

"Why would you keep this a secret from her?" I asked my uncle, confused because I thought he was close with the queen.

"Err...hm...Well... Rosa, you see...," my uncle looking around the room trying to find a n explanation.

"What he is trying to say is never mind why she can't know, she just can't. Now, since you will be working in the kitchen I need you to go to the town," the baker lady told me. The town? That's right, I haven't been there yet. Heck I only just arrived here.

"Rosa, your things are in your room. When you get back from shopping, a guard will take you there," my uncle told my and gave my arm a squeeze and left.

"Here is a basket; I need you to get these things on this list. That witch is throwing another ball tonight and I have ran out on all of the food that she wants us to serve," The woman stressed while shoving a basket and a list of food supplies into my hands while I tried to balance all of them in my hands.

Ball? I wonder if I could get fabric from the town to make myself a dress, even if I am not invited I am know for crashing parties. I thought to myself that I would just have see what will happen next. I smile and head back into the woods and towards the town. I passed it on our way here so I'm confident that I can find it.

As I make my way to the town centre, I can't believe my eyes. Children were covered in filth and then one little girl asked me for food. What was I supposed to do? Reject this starving child? My heart went out to her as I gave her an apple that I took from the kitchen and went further into the town. How can this happen? How could the queen of this village ruin it without feeling any guilt whatsoever?

"Excuse me miss, but what happened here? I was told it was a beautiful place," I questioned a middle aged woman who was holding an infant.

"The queen, she has destroyed our entire home and keeps raising taxes so we can't take care of our children," The woman replies and looks at the infant in her arms.

"Oh my! That's evil!" I told her and I had to say good bye before I could cry. Uncle Brighton and the baker lady mentioned the queen, she sound like a truly evil person who did not care for anyone but herself. Truly selfish.

I quickly buy the food I need and with one last look at the town, I made my way back into the forest. My baskets full of food for tonight's party.


	3. Ball? Sister?

**Thank you LittleLottie187 for being my BETA xoxox Hope you guys like this chapter**

After I got back from shopping, everything was a blur. Every single staff member in the palace was getting ready for the ball tonight. Whether that might be cooking or setting things up, nobody was sitting in a corner and twirling their thumbs around. Except Her Majesty of course. When I was trying to lend a hand in the kitchen, I was hoping to see my half-sister. I really never dwelled on the thought of having a sister before, but now that we are under the same roof, it was kind of surreal. Whenever I got the chance, I would try to ask one of the staff member's questions that I had about my sister. Was she nice? What was her favourite food? What did she look like and will she be at the ball? Most of the time people would wave me off and tell me to go work, but some kind people would answer my questions.

"Snow White is the most caring girl anyone has ever met. She has hair dark as night and skin pale as the moon. The queen does not allow Snow to come to the parties, but who knows tonight?" a kind kitchen lady winked at me when she was answering my questions. She looked at me and then said, "Okay, enough questions, back to work!"

After all that hard work, the ball room was gorgeous. Everybody cheered when we were finished and then left to go get ready themselves. My uncle gave me a reject dress from the queen because, in her own words, "it looks like something a peasant would wear." I took some fabric that had tiger prints and other materials to make it look even more amazing. Once I was done getting ready, I looked into the mirror and sighed. I wished my mother was here to help me get ready. Once I was done primping, I walked out of my room, hoping to see my sister tonight.

Even though I have already seen the ball room, my jawed still dropped after seeing everybody in it. It looked like something out from a fairy tale. Everyone was dressed up as some weird kind of animal and they all had masks, like it was a masquerade. Uncle Brighton said this ball was for the prince who will be staying here for a while and that the queen wants to marry him. I kind of feel sorry for the poor man. As I walked into the ball room, I bumped shoulders with a stunning young girl who had a swan on her head.

"Sorry" we said at the same time. But before I could say anything else, she was running into the hall. I shrugged my shoulders and continued to walk on.

"Wait," someone shouted. The voice seemed familiar to me. Then I recognized the voice. Him. I turned around just as he bumped into me.

"Sorr- You!" He exclaimed,

"Hey ass, who got you down?" I smirked at him, enjoying this moment.

"None of your business, have you seen a girl with a swan on her head anywhere?" he asked me as he was looking around, trying to find her.

"So what if I had? What would I get out of it? And why do you want to know?" I asked him question after question. I noticed his eye twitching constantly. It was very amusing to me and I wonder if that was even normal.

"It's important," was all he said to me, and he did look like he was very serious about it.

I sighed and decided to give the poor boy a chance.

"I have, but I'm not sure where she went. However I'll keep an eye out for her though," I said, deciding from the look he gave me that it probably WAS important.

"Thanks, I'm Prince Alcott," the rude man said. Ah, he finally introduced himself. So he was the poor man the queen wants to marry. Now I really do feel pity for him.

"Iris Rose, but I prefer Iris," I told him.

"Where are you from? You don't sound like you come from here" He is referring to my Latin accent. I grew up in a place where Latin was the only language spoken. I only learned English when my mother died and I was sent to a completely different country, never to go home again.

"I come from a faraway place, where everything shimmers. The flowers only bloom for one month of the year, no one knows why, but it's beautiful." I smiled, thinking of my old home.

"Ah, sounds nice. Now if you'll excuse me Iris, I think the queen will kill us both if I do not go over there now," Prince Alcott said looking over my shoulder. I turn to see the queen glaring at us and I sent her a respectful smile.

"Till we meet again, Prince Alcott," I said to him as I bowed. I walk to the kitchen and out the back door and into the forest. It was too crowded in the ball room, plus...I saw some men were about to ask me to dance. I do not dance. EVER.

As I was trekking into the woods, I remember that I should have brought my cape. It's too damn cold out here. Then my heels started to hurt my feet way too much. Okay, maybe coming out here was not my brightest idea.

I was walking through the snow and kicking when all of the sudden I heard voices. Uncle Brighton's voice was the loudest one.

"You think I wanna be here? You brought this on yourself! You never should have upstaged the queen and now we're both paying the price."

He was shouting at somebody. I could not tell who it was. I was about to move forward when he said, "Stop."

"Brighton, please," a nice feminine voice was heard. I think I heard that voice before…

"Turn around," Uncle Brighton said. I let out a gasp, thinking he was going to kill the girl. Then suddenly I hear a terrifying growl. The beast. I heard the cooks talking about it, how the king was...killed...by this hideous beast. I also heard them talking about the queen, how wicked she was and that the beast belonged to her.

"Please Brighton, I'm afraid," the girl was now pleading to my uncle.

You and me both sister.

I was also afraid. But I knew I couldn't leave them, I needed to make sure they were safe.

"I don't want to die like my father did," the girl was now crying. Like her father? No way! My father was too! Does this mean…?

"Your father was a great man; he was always very kind to me. In return I'll give you one small piece of advice: Run. Like this." After he said that Uncle Brighton ran screaming like a girl towards the palace, but not before he saw me.

"Iris! What are you doing here?" my uncle asked me when he was slowing down, with a worrying glint in his eyes. I cannot believe he left her in the woods.

I didn't bother replying as I ran after the girl into the woods. I couldn't leave her here, not if there was a chance she was my sister. I ran after her but she disappeared. As I was about to give up when I saw her sprawled on the ground in a clearing beside a large tree.

Gotcha.

I scurried next to her and I knew couldn't stay awake much longer, it was too cold and I was too tired. I wrapped my arms around the girl to keep her close and warm. Before darkness consumed me, I saw an orange light and seven heads appear. Great, now I'm hallucinating.


	4. Half-Sister!

**Happy New Year! Sorry for the long wait but i hope you like this chapter xoxox**

**I wanted to thank my friend Emily for being my BETA, Thanks emily:)**

I woke up to loud whispering all around me. I stayed down for a few more seconds while trying to adjust to the room. As soon as the fog left my vision, I slowly sat up and looked around the room trying to figure where I was.

What happened?

Oh right. Uncle Brighton left Snow White in the woods to be eaten by the beast and then I went after her. She then fainted and I went to help her but it was so cold…and I was so exhausted.

I turn to look to my left then my right; we were surrounded by seven little men.

There is a really attractive one with a cowboy hat on, and I swear just looking at him had me fawning, and one with a wolf skin on the second floor. I turn my head down and find another dwarf, but this one was eating something that looked like bread and he is wearing a beret. I look to my right and find one with a flyers cap, who is curled up next to Snow, who is still out. All of the sudden I could hear chuckling from above me and I look up; this one was wearing a top hat.

I hear rustling beside me and feel an arm graze against mine and I glance over and watch Snow wake up.

"They're awake," a voice declared by me. I look over and see two more dwarfs, one with a soldier helmet and another with a pirate hat.

"Who are you?" inquired Snow as she sat up.

"We'll ask the questions round here," The one with the helmet said.

'Ok,' I thought to myself, 'I get this is their home, but there is no need to be so rude.' I rolled my eyes as I thought this.

"Who are you two?" the helmet dwarf asked the both of us. Snow and I looked at each other as in 'you first'. Since I was still miffed at their rudeness, I did not want to answer first. Snow could tell that I was not going to answer first; she took the initiative to talk first.

"I'm Snow White," she declared, and all the dwarfs gasped at this.

"That's not possible!" the soldier one exclaims.

"Snow White is a deceptive troll," said the hot cowboy. Deceptive troll? Really? Isn't that a little too harsh?

"Yeah, they keep her locked up in the tower" said wolf boy.

"Maybe this is a different Snow White," the one with the beret said and everyone just looked at him. We all gave him a 'were you dropped on your head as a baby or something' kind of way. He put up his hands in a defensive way and said, "It's possible."

"If you're really Snow White, who's your father?" asked the one in the pirate hat. Now I really had to roll my eyes at that comment. There is only one Snow White in the kingdom and everybody knows who her father is, who is my father as well.

"The king," Snow answered.

"She is Snow White, see?" the one with the beret pointed at her and smiled in an 'I TOLD YOU SO' kind of way.

"What about you?" asked the cowboy. His voice was very gruff and he had looks to match. Not exactly my type considering I don't have a type, but I still felt oddly fascinated to this man. The others turned to look at me with confusion then recognition. I guess they forgot about me because they have a royal in their home. I noticed the one with the flyers cap was still staring at Snow White dreamily. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a tad jealous that Snow White had admirers.

"I'm Iris Rose, but I prefer Iris, my father is also the king," I blurted out before thinking.

Shit, I can't believe I let it slip.

"WHAT?!" was heard from everybody, as they were trying to figure out if I was lying or not.

"That's impossible! I'm his only daughter!" Snow shouted, looking jealous and confused. All righty, Snow's being a bit greedy.

"It's NOT impossible! Brighton had a sister who happened to be my mother and she and the king were friends. I guess one night they were both too caught up in the moment and just did it. My mum left once it happened, said it felt wrong because they weren't in love. She didn't know she was pregnant until a few months later. She came back to the kingdom once she found out she was pregnant, only to find my father had met your mum and so on and so forth," I explained with a wave of my hand like it didn't hurt to have a dad who didn't know you were born and I still felt abandoned.

"You're Angelique's daughter?" asked the one with the helmet.

I nodded, "You knew my mother?" I asked.

"Yes, now I think about it, you look just as beautiful as she did. She used to teach at the same school as me. She was such a wonderful woman, telling stories to the children and always baking things for them," he replied with a kind smile but then he frowned. "I was never told she had a child, but she ran away".

"Not even my uncle knew until ten years ago after the, *cough cough* accident," I gave him a sad was about to say something when Snow interrupted.

"So you're saying I have a sister?" she asked, with emotions running across her face. She cannot keep a poker face if her life depended on it.

"Half-sister," I corrected her.

"This is ridiculous," exclaimed the hot one. Okay, I'm starting to re-think my liking to this man.

All of a sudden, they all started talking at once, talking about my mother and the king.

"Wait!" The one with the helmet shouted above all the voices and everyone hushed. He walked over to me and looked into my eyes. Suddenly his hand shot out to pull the sleeve of my dress over my shoulder to reveal my rose birthmark. My eyes bugged out of my head as he tugged down my sleeve, I was about to hit him but stopped when he talked.

Snow and the helmet guy gasped.

"It's true, she bares the mark of the king," he declared while Snow traced her fingers over the rose.

"I say never trust anyone over four feet," the cowboy states.

"Yeah," the wolf one says as he slides down a poll. "Let's drag them back out to the woods and pretend like we didn't see nothing!" Now this guy was starting to worry me immensely.

"No, you fool's! They're princesses," the soldier one shouts.

"Well, technically no one knows I'm a princess" I looked at him and shrugged.

"That means SHE'S valuable," the one in the top hat says and indicating to Snow.

"We should hold the girls up for ransom and tell the queen about Iris," The wolf one inputs.

"No! Please, I'll be killed! Also, she sent Snow out here to be killed by the beast! Why do you think I went out in the freezing snow?" I looked at them desperately, pleading not to be sent out in the cold.

"Why would the Queen want you two dead?" The cowboy asks.

"Have you met her?! She's loony, phyco…" The dwarfs starting chuckling at my choice of words.

"And she's wicked." Snow pipes from beside me.

The dwarfs agree. The cowboy slams his fist into a board behind him. "Sorry, but we have an appointment to keep." He slides down the pole. "So it's time for you girlies to shuffle along." He says.

Snow sits up. "Oh, wait! You can't just kick us out," she calls out urgently, trying to get them to change their minds and hearts.

I felt kind of bad seeing how Snow no longer could go home; at least I had the orphanage.

"We have nowhere else to go." Snow looked so desperate that it broke my heart.

"Please, she'll kill us!" Now, usually I'm not one for begging, but I'm not feeling very well and it's too cold for me to trek the two day walk to my home town.

"Look. If the Queen finds you here, she'll kill us, too," one of the dwarfs told us. I just realised how selfish we are being, so I slowly started to stand up. Oh wow, I only just realized how small I am as I stand up and my head just skims the ceiling.

"All I'm asking is to spend one night. Please," Snow pleads. As she says this, she grabs my hand so I can't go anywhere.

"Huddle!" The soldier one announces. They huddle and all begin talking at the same time. Snow and I try to peer around and make heads or tails of them letting us stay here.

"Think they'd let us?" I asked. Snow just sighed and the group suddenly separates.

"Tough luck, your Highnesses" the cowboy says. Highness? I mentally smile. I like the sound of that.

Snow and I look towards the others. "Sorry Iris, Snow White. All votes need to be unanimous." The soldier explains.

We all look towards the cowboy. He looks up and finds us all staring at him. I put on my famous puppy eyes and as does Snow. I saw this out of the corner of my eyes and smirked internally thinking that we really are related. He suddenly throws down whatever he was eating.

"One night," he holds up one finger and walks towards the door.

"Thank you," we said and I smiled at him as he passed. He just frowned and collected what looked like masks.

"Come on, guys. Duty calls." They all make their way towards the door.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, "We don't even know your names."

The cowboy looks at me. "I'm Butcher." Butcher? Fitting.

"Will Grimm," the soldier on says. He seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Half Pint," the one wearing the flyers hat says. He gives us a wink before following the other two.

"Napoleon," The one in the pirate hat gives us a bow.

"Grub," the beret one says while eating. Also a fitting name.

"Chuck," the one in the top hat says.

"But you can call him Chuckles," Grub says. Chuckles laughed.

The wolf one walks up. "And I'm Wolf." He suddenly howls. Both Snow and I blink. We look at each other when the door closes behind Wolf.

"Well, I guess we should talk?" I said as I sat down beside her and crossed my legs, not bothering to be ladylike as it was just us.

Snow nods, "We should."


	5. Theifs!

I hope you guys like this chapter, thank you so much for the reviews it means alot to me:) Thank you aswell to my BETA Emily

"Okay, so let's talk. I'm taking it you want to know more about me and my mother?" I asked rather hesitantly to Snow White. She nodded and sat facing towards me, but unlike me she sat in a rather lady-like manner with her hands folded in her lap.

"Okay, so first things first, my name is Iris Rose Avalendes. I have spent the past ten years in an orphanage because of my mother's death. I don't remember much other than seeing black smoke and then darkness." I looked into Snow White's eyes and saw pity starting to creep into her eyes. I cringed because I just hated being pitied and getting everybody's sympathy. After a long sigh I continued.

"I grew up in a distant land away from here where everything seems to sparkle and shimmer in the winter and where every colour of the rainbow and known to man is at every corner wherever you turn. The rain is very warm in the spring and it seems to refresh every living being there," I stopped while thinking of my birth land. I sighed again and continued on. "My mother taught me everything that I needed to know and she taught me in all of the subjects. She trained me in mathematics to four different languages. She was super intelligent and was a great, caring mother. It was just us against the world since, well forever really," I smiled at Snow and she returned it.

"It wasn't until the accident did I really understand how much she meant to me. I realized I took her for granted and I will forever regret it. But if there is one thing my mother taught me, it was that regret was just a waste of your life and that I should spend less time regretting and more time helping others. When I arrived at the orphanage it was like a slap in the face, a new perspective of reality if you will. Everyone was terrified because the caretakers were so cruel. I remember the head caretaker; Mr Krane. He was a dreadful man and he would beat us all for the slightest thing. I used to get the worst though; you see this man hated mixed people. My mother was Latino while my dad, I mean our dad, was white. He thought I was an abomination. It wasn't until the new boy, Jay, turned up. Jay was just a few years older than me, and when he came to us, that was when things finally got a little bit better and the sun shined a little brighter. He was my only friend because the children were scared that if they were my friends, then Mr Krane would beat them. We used to talk to each other all the time and when the other children bullied me, he stood up for me.

One night Mr Krane hurt me like he never did before. I was just used to the beatings and would never shed a tear. However, on this one night he was downright furious. He beat me with his cane and his belt and created long bloody gashes all over my back and torso. I shrieked and Jay was there in an instant," All of the sudden I heard loud sniffling and I looked up and I saw Snow almost bawling. I gave her a sad smile to try to comfort her. "Don't worry it gets better. You see, Jay is a very tall and a muscular man. He may have been fourteen at the time, but he sure as hell could have past for an eighteen- year-old. He punched Mr Krane in the face and kept beating him until I shouted for him to stop. At this point Mr Krane was out cold and was covered in blood. Jay picked me up and took me into the town towards the doctor. Not long after we arrived, news of the beating had made its way through the town and guards were on their way to arrest Mr Krane. That's the last we ever saw of him and I'm thankful to have Jay not only as a friend but as a brother too. Since then Jay has been teaching me how to defend myself by using hand-to-hand combat and every weapon imaginable." I looked at Snow and saw her crying.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. If we had known about you then you wouldn't have to have gone through all of that" She continued to weep and hold my hand.

"No, no, no. It's not your fault, nor anyone else's. It's just the way things are and we have to accept them," I held her hand tightly and continued.

"The whole reason I'm here is because last week was my 19th birthday and the orphans thought of a great party and got me a carriage ticket. Jay now owns the orphanage and takes great care of all of us. When I arrived I met my uncle, well half uncle I guess. He and my mum were half siblings kind of like we are. When my uncle first heard about me, he didn't want to have anything to do with me. I guess it was because my mom never told him about me and left without a word. I also met that handsome but irritating Prince Alcott when I first arrived in this town." When I mention the irritating part she laughed.

"I don't know about irritating, he seemed quite charming to me," She defended him with a dreamy look in her eyes.

I snorted while rolling my eyes, "Only because you're you, sweet and caring. I on the other hand, decided not to get him down in the woods after he insulted me and proceeded towards the castle. Though I do feel bad leaving the man he was with there."

"That was you?! He mentioned you when I let him down, he said some weird woman was rude to him and didn't let them down," Snow said.

"Only because he was rude!" I defended myself. "And weird?! I'll show him weird the next time I see him!" I fumed.

Snow laughed and stood up, bringing me up as well with our joined hands and we walked into the kitchen.

"I guess we should make them dinner now, y'know because they helped us and all," I suggested to Snow, while getting all the meat and vegetables I could find onto the table ready to cook.

Snow agreed and we got to work. I showed her how to make a lamb stew and I even taught her how to make shapes and animals using the left over vegetables. I told her the children always loved it when I made it for them to dunk into their stew.

A few hours later after tedious work, we were finally all done. We had just laid the table when the door was roughly opened and seven excited voices filled the cottage.

Butcher is the first one in but he doesn't notice us yet as he sets something down.

"Nothing like an honest day's work," Half Pint announces as he walks in. I watch as they all seem very happy and excited about something. 'What did we miss?' I thought to myself.

"Beats working down a mine," Napoleon says as he and Grub walk in. Chuckles, Grimm, and Wolf walk in. They all start talking at once, moving things around in the bag. I heard the sounds of coins and instantly knew what they did, but I knew Snow was going to find out soon so I didn't bother saying anything.

I snickered when no one noticed the food on the table then I cleared my throat and they all turn to stare at us. "Welcome home," Snow simply says while holding herself in a regal manner.

They all stare at the food and Grub starts sniffing. I couldn't help but compare him to the hound dog we used to have when my mum was alive.

"Lamb. Carrots. Gravy!" Grub says as he makes his way over. The others quickly follow. "I say their keepers."

"Sure they are." Butcher says as he sits down.

"Thank you." Wolf says before he sits down.

"You're welcome." I smile brightly at him then turn to the hungry dwarfs. Man, they're worse than the orphans!

Once again I look over to where they have dropped off their stuff and notice palace guard uniforms. I nudge Snow and wave for her to follow me.

"Why do you have palace guard uniforms?" She asks.

"We got them at work," Napoleon explains. I snorted, but covered it with a cough.

"What kind of job do you have?" Snow enquires, having not noticed my snort. But unlike her, the dwarfs noticed and Butcher glared at me. I just winked at him and stuck my tongue out. What? I grew up with a bunch of children! Don't judge me!

"We're… Renegades," Butcher says while giving me death glare. Why does he hate me so much?

"Rebels," Chuckles inputs.

"Thieves!" Half Pint says, not even trying to hide it. I had to laugh at his straightforwardness.

"That's true," Grub says, agreeing with him. "We stole the Queen's gold!"

I roll my eyes. He's such a child. 'Coming from the girl who just stuck her tongue out at Butcher?' I thought to myself.

"You broke into the palace?" Snow asks, almost in disbelief.

"NO, we nabbed it outside the village," Half Pint explains, like it made the situation better.

"So, you actually stole the people's gold," I state, finally deciding to join the conversation.

"Not exactly," Grimm says.

"Yes, exactly!" Snow exclaims. Snow checked the bag and sure enough, it has the people's gold inside it.

"That's the people's money! Why, that's terrible. They need it. You must return it," I told them, trying to get them to see reason.

"We worked hard for that money," Butcher says, not giving up this fight.

"Stealing isn't work." I state, glaring at him. I've grown bored of this conversation and it's true that the people need this gold.

"Sure it's work!" Half Pint exclaims.

"It's hard!" Butcher explains. I just role my eyes and creep towards the sack of money, giving Snow a look saying stall them.

"I tore my shirt, had to sew it. That's work." Napoleon says.

"I'm sorry you got a few scrapes, but the townspeople need that money," Snow says. I nod in agreement and am about to leave but then I heard something that stopped me instantly.

"They hate us," Grub explains.

"Well, that can't be true; from what I've seen, MOST of you are too nice to be hated," I stressed the word 'most' and gave a pointed look to Butcher. I'm not sure why but I'm enjoying how annoyed and angry he looks, makes him look hotter, more-WHAT? Wait! No! I mentally shake my head and tune back into the conversation at hand.

"It is. They despise us," Wolf says while looking dejected.

"Years ago, when the Queen expelled all the 'undesirables'… No one stood up for us," Grimm explains. I stare at them all. "She said…," Grimm looked around and couldn't finish.

"Banish all the Uglies," Half Pint finishes.

"You've been mistreated by the Queen; No one understands that better than me," Snow stated.

"It's unfair, but so is stealing from innocent families," I admonished, looking at them.

"We weren't always thieves," Wolf says.

"We were legitimate." Half Pint announces.

"With real trades." Grub inputs.

"I was a teacher," Grimm tells us.

"I was a butcher," Butcher says. I blink. 'Butcher was a butcher….Ok..'

"And I ran a pub. A good, honest job," I raised an eyebrow at Half Pint.

"Honest?" Chuckles asks.

"It was almost honest," Half Pint proclaims. "I stole a little," while gesturing with his hands.

"A little?" Wolf asks.

"It's a cash business!" Half-Pint shouted to defend himself.

"That's you excuse?" Grimm asks.

"Hey, everybody does it, all right?" Half Pint states.

"I didn't," Napoleon says.

"Neither did I," Butcher says.

"Uh, you put your thumb on the scale!" Half Pint exclaims.

"I did not!" Butcher says.

"Did too! And you cheat at poker!" Half Pint accused, pointing at Napoleon.

"You cheat at poker?" Butcher questioned Napoleon.

I knew then we had to leave, so I took Snow's hand, the bag of money in my other hand, and legged it to the town. I heard Butcher yell and ran faster, but poor Snow was not used to this started to slow down. So I did what any big sister would do, I lifted her onto my back, with a squeal on her part, and ran as fast as I could.

As we enter the town, I look behind us and found the dwarfs a ways back. We quickly run to the magistrate's office and Snow places the townspeople's gold on his desk. His eyes widen. He grabs the gold and tells us to follow him outside.

"My friends," He says to the townspeople. "Our money has been returned!" He says as he holds up the bag. The town cheers. "It was brought back to us by…" He ushers us over. "These two young ladies. Tell us your names."

"I'm…" Snow begins. I hear yelling and look over and see the dwarfs.

"By those men over there!" I say, cutting off Snow and pointing at the guys. They all stop and stare at me. "Those men… They're the ones that brought back the gold. The Queen told you that they were undesirables, but she lied." Grimm gives me a confused look. "These brave men are the true heroes. They fearlessly raided the Queen's caravan and retrieved your gold. They're the ones that really deserve your thanks." I say and begin clapping. Snow quickly joins in and soon the entire townspeople are clapping for them. I smirked at the dumbfound dwarfs as they are given hugs and kisses and thanks.

When the townspeople are finished thanking them, we make our way back to the tree. Once we arrive, Grimm tells us to wait inside. We walk in and Snow and I share a look. "What do you think is going to happen?" Snow asks. I honestly had no clue, kick us out maybe? Kill us? The scenarios varied.

"I don't know Snow," I sighed.

A moment later they all waked in and stare at us. "You two can stay," They all say.

Snow sighs and sits down while I smile. "But we've got conditions," Butcher says. "If you're going to live with us, you have to be one of us."

I nod, knowing they meant a thief. But Snow being such an innocent little thing didn't get it. "I have to be a dwarf?" Snow asks. I giggle at her innocents and sit down next to her.

"No. It means you have to be a thief." Napoleon explains with a small smile.

"I feel I've been clear about my thoughts on stealing." Snow says.

"What if you were stealing from the Queen?" Wolf asks.

"You said yourself she's wicked," Grimm says.

"Somebody has to stop her," Half Pint explains.

"Why not you two?" Napoleon asks.

"Why not us?" Half Pint says, referring to us and him. I raise an eyebrow as the others stare at him. "I mean us," Half Pint now says, referring to everyone.

"What do you mean us? I can't stop her" I stated looking at Grimm since he seemed to be the one with all the answers.

"On the contrary Iris, you are the eldest child of the king. How old are you?" He asked.

"I just turned nineteen," I replied somewhat cautiously.

Suddenly all the dwarfs and Snow while gasped. I have never met a bunch of people who gasp as much as they do my god.

"That means you're at the age of succession" Butcher said.

"What do you mean? That I will take the throne? Be serious!" I scoffed at their stupidity.

"I'm just an orphan who has no idea of royal life. The only things I know are the things my mother taught me and how to take care of children. I'm a nobody!" I shouted.

"We are being serious! Iris, you're not a nobody, what you told me earlier just proves how strong you are. You have been through so much but yet you still smile, you still laugh," Snow defended. I saw Butcher raise an eyebrow in a disbelieving way as well as the curious looks from the other dwarfs.

"Maybe, but how am I going to rule a kingdom?" I asked.

"We'll help you, we'll help you become strong enough to over throw the queen" Wolf says, smiling up at me. All the dwarfs agreed, even Butcher.

"Okay," I smile at them. "But back to the topic before, we have conditions."

"Whatever we steal goes back to the people," Snow states.

The guys all nod. "Minus a small commission," Butcher says.

"Butcher!" The guys all exclaims. I smiled at his antics and was rewarded with a smirk. Cocky bastard.

"Fine. But they don't know the first thing about thieving!" Butcher exclaims.

Grimm takes a step forward. "Then we'll teach them. We'll teach them to believe." Snow and I look at each other. "We shall start early tomorrow morning, alright." Snow and I nod and go to sleep on the mattress we awoke from this morning.

My dreams where haunted by the kingdom and this evil queen, I knew I wouldn't sleep well tonight.


	6. Iris!

First off this is not a new chapter! **but dont click of yet!**

I'll be uploading the new chapter soon but i want to let everyone know **i have changed Rosa's name to Iris.**

Why? Becaus i think its better than Rosa and it makes more sense because her full name is Iris Rose.

The next chapter will be up in the next week or so:)


	7. Back to the castle

My mum was driving the carriage; our two horses, Spring and Bloom, were trotting away on the muddy path leading towards our new home. I had my head on my mother's knees while she hummed a lullaby to me.

"Mama, where are we going?" I asked her.

"To our new home, Nena," She smiled down at me before looking forward again.

"Oh, and where's that?" I asked sitting up and looking at my mum.

"Oh Nena, it's a surprise for your birthday," My mum told me with a wink.

"Really? Mama please tell me!" I pleaded to my mother and starting jumping in my seat.

"No Iris, it's a surprise. Now go to sleep Nena, we still have a long way to go," My mother laughed at my childish pleading.

"Okay," I pouted and laid on my mother's lap again and went to sleep.

Suddenly the horses let out a loud shriek and got on their back legs causing the carriage to topple over. I heard my mum scream and I let out a scream of my own when I hit the ground. I screamed for my mum but I couldn't hear nor see her; black smoke was all around me and when I tried to go through it my eyes burned as did my throat. Blood started dripping out of my eyes and mouth but I continued to run, looking for my mother.

"MAMA! MAMI!" I kept screaming for her, but nothing. I was suddenly overtaken with exhaustion and collapsed onto the ground. But not before I let out one last scream for my mother.

….….

I woke up with a start, the memory still clear in my mind. I felt cold sweat dripping down my face, my clothes sticking to my clammy body. Ugh. Disgusting. I definitely need to go and get some new clothes for myself, maybe some for Snow too.

I looked around me to find Snow and the dwarves still sound asleep, all except Butcher.

I stood up in the small cottage, which to be fair was not hard to do since I am only 5'1. I walked towards the window, noticing that it was snowing again. It always seems to snow here; it's like a forever lasting ice age.

Suddenly, I heard grunting and some wood being chopped. I turned my head towards the sound and saw Butcher with an axe cutting some wood. Oh boy…his muscles rippled when he raised the axe and I only just collected myself before my knees gave way.

Why did he have to be so damn hot?! He is such an ass, yet I can't help but feel so attracted to him. I kept staring at him while he chopped; I could feel the drool building up but was too entranced to notice.

"You have drool all over your chin," a voice suddenly said, making me give a strangled screech. Said screech happened to catch Butchers attention and he sent an annoyed glare my way before continuing with his chopping.

"No I don't Grimm!" I whispered/yelled while quite blatantly whipping my chin. Oh, okay maybe I do.

"You like Butcher?" He asked amused, raising his eyebrow.

"No I don't" HA, even I could distinguish the lie in my voice.

"YOU DO!" He pointed at me laughing. I couldn't help but to laugh along with him, Grimm seemed like the uncle I never had.

"Okay maybe I do, but please don't tell anyone," I pleaded to him. I can't say I actually like Butcher but I can't say I'm not insanely attracted to him.

"I won't, on one condition. You become queen and let us fight alongside you," Grimm requested with hopeful eyes, his brown eyes wide with excitement.

"It seems I have no choice in the matter anyways. After I heard what she did to you guys, I want to take down that witch bitch," Grimm laughed and patted my hand.

"You're a great woman Iris, just like your mother," He smiled and limped away. I just noticed he had a limp, but I am not one to pry so I ignored it and looked down at myself.

Shit. That's the only thing I can think of when I look at myself in the mirror. My hair is now down and up to my bum in its usual bushiness; my dress has become extremely wrinkles and has left marks on my exposed arms and shoulders. This is what I get for wearing the same dress two days in a row. Sighing, I went over to the pump and started wiping the makeup of my face.

Suddenly two small muddy hands shot out of nowhere and grabbed the cloth I was using. I looked down and saw Butcher wiping them on the cloth and he threw them back at me with a smirk.

"What's your problem?!" I demanded, wondering why he did that. I have done nothing wrong to him.

"You're my problem, because you and your sister are here! We are in danger! You are going to get us all killed!" Butcher yelled, waking up everyone in the cabin.

"BUTCHER!" Grimm and Napoleon yelled.

"You're acting as if I want this, as if I asked for my dad to be a king! I can't believe I'm still here!" I glared at him harshly and turned to walk out the door.

"Why are you here then?" He asked, taking a few steps closer to me.

"I don't know! Maybe I want to finally have a family again, maybe I want to live my life and maybe I want a family of my own. I guess I just have to deal with the truth that it's never going to happen!" I ranted once more and stormed out of there and towards the castle.

I can't believe this. Why am I still here? I could be with Jay and my orphans, being a mother to them. I could be finding them families, never mind about my hopes and dreams.

I continued my trek through the snow, once again reminded that I'm still in my ball dress. Suddenly the wind picked up and I was blinded by the snow. My eyes burned and my tanned skin was now rosy red from the cold. I kept it up until I reached the back door of the kitchen, slamming it hard as soon as I got in.

"Iris! Where have you been?" was the first thing I was greeted with, my uncles arms wrapped around my shivering person. So…cold…so…tired. My vision became blurred and I felt my body float; someone was holding me and taking me to my room.

I was too tired to open my eyes once I hit my bed, the warmth making me even more fatigued.

"Iris! Iris wake up! It's Prince Alcott!" a deep voice rumbled and two large warm hands shook me. I groaned loudly, mumbling a 'shut up' before I felt a hand travel a little too near my southern region. That resulted in my bolting up and slapping the offender.

"OW! What was that for!?" Prince Alcott exclaimed while rubbing the mark I left.

"Keep your hands to yourself boy!" I scolded.

"Sorry, so did you find her? Snow White?" he asked.

You'd think he was a lost puppy whose owner had died or abandoned him.

'But should I tell him?' I thought to myself, trying to make a decision,' He might tell the queen though; god knows how far her magic reached. No. He can find out for himself'.

"No, I'm sorry," I said, putting on my poker face.

"Oh, but where were you these past few days?"

"I was doing my own thing, which is none of your concern. If that is it then will you kindly leave my room?" I have to admit I was being somewhat rude but I'm cold, I'm tired and I just want to get out of this damn dress!

"Ok, I'm sorry to have bothered you." He left my room quietly and I got out of my bed and headed towards my bathroom.

I quickly had a hot bath and got changed into my nightgown which was made of red silk and white cotton. I hopped into my bed and fell back onto my fluffy mattress, staring up at the ceiling my mind went back to that argument with Butcher.

Why did he have to be so cruel? I don't even know him well enough for him to judge. I know I'll have to go back soon, I have finally found my sister and I don't intend to leave her any time soon. Sigh. Why did life have to be so difficult? God really is punishing me.

Tomorrow I'll head back to the woods and apologise to the dwarves for running away. I should also give Snow a few of my clothes that are too big for me. Yep, tomorrow is a new day and I'll just have to take it in stride, and ignore Butcher.


End file.
